The Pros & Cons of a Raw Food Diet

What is the Verdict on a Raw Food Diet?

Juicing and eating raw foods is without question the way to living healthier, fitter and longer but it’s not all good news. This site delivers unbiased truth whenever possible so you get the full story. The pros certainly outweigh the cons, but you can’t take full advantage of juicing and raw foods without knowing what the cons are and how to avoid them. Most people, like me, prefer to occasionally juice fast and make raw foods and regular juicing a percentage of their over all diet. Even if you still enjoy the good stuff, which can make up for the cons, you’ll likely eat less overall because of the effect juicing and raw foods have on your appetite. You get more of what the body needs so your body asks less often. That’s the simple way to put it.

The Raw Food Diet breakdown:

Pros:

Cooking foods too much does destroy valuable nutrients.

Instant energy, beating chronic fatigue syndrome and other diseases by boosting your immune system and possible healthy benefits toward beating Crohn’s Disease and cancer are just a few of the ways that raw foods can be a positive influence in your dietary life.

Raw foods are not processed or refined, so you don’t have to worry about getting contaminants from meats and fish.

Raw foods are also generally high in healthy fats and fiber.

vegetarian and vegan diets support good health by decreasing the risk of heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

You’ll also lend to a sustainable environment with the consumption of organic foods.

Juicing raw foods is the best and easiest way to lose weight fast

Juicing raw foods delivers a powerful dose of “live” food and nutrients to your system

Much of the processed foods are ultimately toxic and leads to weight issues

Less weight gain and most likely weight loss which in itself creates a whole range of benefits

Healthier system with less to digest each day means better sleep

Cons:

Most cooked foods are easier to digest. But it’s also true that cooking foods destroys some valuable nutrients so you get a lot less benefit

some foods actually become better for you after they’re cooked

eating nothing except cold raw foods can seem bland for most of us

Certain vegetables require cooking to release key nutrients. Tomatoes for example have an antioxidant called “lycopene.” The best way to get this is from ketchup, stewed tomatoes or tomato sauce. Carrots have carotenoids in them that are more bio-available when they are cooked

Raw food diets can also cause you to have lower bone mass due to the fact that they are low in calcium and Vitamin-D. In order to keep your Vitamin-D levels up, you need to get exposure to sunlight

Over time, you become less tolerant to cooked foods; which means you have a moderate risk of being ill when eating cooked foods, so moderation is key

Following a raw diet makes it harder to eat out and go to social functions

The best advice for those considering raw food diets is to try to be middle-of-the-road.

Most people follow raw food diets by supplementing their diets with 50% to 75% raw foods. The health benefits can be a wonderful thing, but you should choose a plan that you can stick to. There’s no question that including juicing and raw foods will give you an advantage over the masses that are eating the typical American diet, but you got to know the bad points to avoid them.